TIFFIN Complaints

WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTAE THE CARGO DOOR SKIN BLEW OFF. THE DOOR IS APPROXIMATELY 48' X 28" THIS COULD HAVE GONE THRU A WINDSHEILD AND CAUSED A FATAL ACIDENT. THIS HAS BEEN KNOWED THAT TIFFIN USED DEFECTIVE GLUE IN 2019' BUT THEY HAVE NOT MADE A RECALL, THEY HAVE CORRECTED SEVERAL OTHER VEHICLES BUT NOT ALL OF THEM MANUFACTURED WITH THE DEFECTIVE GLUE. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL. THERE WAS NO WARNING OR ANYTHING VISIBLE TO US BEFORE DRIVING ON THE ROAD.

In troubleshooting a power failure in the slide and leveling hydraulic system in this Class A RV, an electrical issue was discovered with the main powerline being frayed and corroded due to its placement next to the gas tank. It appears the power line may have been arching against the fuel tank. This seems like a very dangerous situation and should be reviewed. No incidents happened due to the discovery of this issue, and the powerline was repaired and moved away from the the fuel tank. If this was a repeated manufacturing issue by Tiffin, it should be investigated as it could cause a fire or worse explosion of the fuel tank.

Incurable Electrical Nonconformity and Active Safety Hazard Four years ago, I reported a severe electrical integration failure to an authorized Tiffin service center. The vehicle’s aftermarket stereo integration harness back-feeds power into the Mercedes-Benz CAN-bus network, causing erratic flashing of the SOS emergency lighting, mirror puddle lights, and interior dome lights all night long. Because Tiffin failed to locate this defect, it created a massive, continuous parasitic draw. This system was so violently miswired that it destroyed three heavy-duty automotive batteries in the first year of ownership alone. In an attempt to resolve the issue, the Mercedes-Benz Electronic Ignition Switch (EIS) was replaced. However, because the underlying Tiffin wiring bridge was never severed, the vehicle's central computing network has been fundamentally corrupted. The vehicle is now locked in a permanent "Limp Home Mode," restricting speed to a dangerously low 28 mph on inclines. Operating a heavy motorhome at 28 mph on a public highway incline is a life-threatening safety hazard that leaves me completely vulnerable to catastrophic rear-end collisions. In addition to the chassis-corrupting CAN-bus defects, the vehicle suffers from a total, systemic failure of its primary living-quarter electrical systems. The factory-installed solar panels have never functioned since the date of purchase. Furthermore, the secondary high-output alternator has suffered a complete mechanical and electrical failure, and the primary electrical outlet has physically charred and melted due to dangerous electrical arcing. The vehicle’s entire electrical infrastructure is fundamentally defective, dangerous, and poses an immediate fire and safety risk to its occupants.

Vehicle sways uncontrollably when passed by a semi. On several occasion it push me into the berm. It is known issue with the Ford chassis the vehicle sits on. We just purchased the vehicle a week ago and asked to return it but the dealer will not take it back. The vehicle is not safe to drive it its current state. To resolve it is going to take a considerable amount of money. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On 6/16 we experienced a Freightliner Optiview Dash Flat Panel Delamination with resulted in lines going through the gauges on the Dash. The Dash appears to be functioning with the defect. Initially we thought the flat panel display had cracked. We contacted Freightliner 24/7 Technical Support (Case #15355287) to report the issue. The Representative said that he had not heard of this issue. When in fact Freightliner had a recall on the flat panel units manufactured by Medallion Inc, that our Motorhome was not included based on the 2020 model year. We asked the Freightliner representative if the Dash flat panel could stop working which would present a safety issues while traveling down the highway. The Representative would not offer any guidance. He said we should check our fluid levels and in the event the Dash fails we should monitor our speed with a GPS. The representative indicated that we should contact a local Freightliner Service Center to determine what the replacement cost would be for a new Dash flat panel since we were out of warranty. We contacted our local Freightliner Service Center in Hattiesburg, MS. Freightliner part number 66-02439-000 They quoted the cost at $5133 + Installation A search on the Medallion Delamination issue is wide spread across Trucks and many different Motorhome manufacturers. When we first purchased our Motorhome in 2020 the Dash would blackout while traveling down the highway. Freightliner indicated that is was a firmware issue. Flashed the unit and issue has not repeated itself. This was 1 model year after the Medallion flat panel recall. While we understand that component failures can occur having your Dash fail while underway is not acceptable and a manufacturer who cannot answer whether it will eventually fail and will need to replaced.

COMPLAINT 1 — Iowa Failure ([XXX]) Vehicle: 2026 Tiffin Wayfarer XPW VIN: [XXX] Date of Incident: [XXX] Location: Near [XXX] Mileage: Approximately 10,000–11,000 miles Narrative: While traveling at highway speed on [XXX] near Grinnell, Iowa, the rear wheel and hub assembly of my 2026 Tiffin Wayfarer XPW catastrophically failed. The rear wheels dislodged from the vehicle, disabling it on the highway. The vehicle had approximately 10,000–11,000 miles at the time of failure and was purchased new on [XXX] Emergency roadside repair was required. The vehicle is built on a Mercedes-Benz chassis and is equipped with Alcoa aluminum wheels. There is concern that improper lug hardware, wheel specifications, torque procedures, or re-torque practices may have contributed to the wheel loosening and separation. Repair was performed by Hewitt's Service Center in Iowa. Total repair cost was $5,783.17, including hub, flange, wheel, bearings, seals, tires, and towing. This failure occurred at highway speed on a nearly new vehicle and represents a serious and potentially life-threatening safety defect. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate whether this failure pattern exists in other 2026 Tiffin Wayfarer or similar Mercedes-Benz chassis RVs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I bought my Tiffin Open Trail in Nov. 2025. The vehicle pitched, rolled and swayed so badly it could be hard to control going over a speed bump. I decided to upgrade the suspension. I went to Owl Vans in Austin, Texas on March 9, 2026. I stayed a hotel while the work was performed. I received a phone call from Owl the night of March 9th, because they found the inside dually tire had been rubbing on the frame underneath the entire time, with tire failure immenint. This is a 12k pound vehicle. I contacted Tiffin who really seemed unconcerned. Owl provided me with a new tire and informed me that they were upfitting many (25) Open Trails by Tiffin and they had found the vehicle too heavy for the stock Mercedes 3500XD suspension. They informed Tiffin of their concerns. Because I upgraded the suspension significantly it resolved my issue. HOWEVER, I contacted friends who had recently purchased an Open Trail with stock suspension and shared my findings and concern. They had their Open Trail inspected and ALSO found the leaf springs flat and the rear tire rubbing with imminent failure expected. I spent $12k making my vehicle SAFE. If the tire would have blown at 70 mph, losing control of a 12k pound vehicle would have been catastrophic, not only me but anyone else near me. I travel extensively in my Open Trai and so do others.

On April 20, 2026 we discovered our 2025 Tiffin Wayfarer was experiencing a thermal runaway of the house battery charging system. The coach was in storage at a public RV storage facility. Our unit is a single enclosed unit with a roll up door. When we opened the bay door, we could tell the entire storage bay and coach were severely filled with toxic H2S gas. After the bay had been allowed to ventilate, I disconnected the shore power to stop the charging process. I called Tiffin Motorhomes Tech Support the next day and spoke with the Wayfarer specialist, Keith Hawkins. He said this was a known issue and they were working on trying to determine the cause.. Keith called me the on April 26, 2026, and told me that he had determined the cause was Tiffin had been incorrectly wiring the house batteries, specifically they had been been attaching the ground wire to the wrong battery.

Hello, I would like to report a safety issue related to my motorhome. I have a 2025 Tiffin Phaeton 40IH on a Freightliner Custom Chassis, VIN [XXX] . Freightliner Custom Chassis has a safety system called Roadwatch which is a collision avoidance device that integrates the Adaptive Cruise Control and the Standard Cruise Control. When the vehicle experiences heavy rain a driver information screen displays the message “Radar Screen Blocked”, obviously due to heavy rain, and it renders all of Roadwatch system inoperative. However when the rain subsides and the driver message clears the entire Roadwatch system DOES NOT return to normal operation. After calling Freightliner Custom Chassis I was told the engine needs shut off and restarted to clear the malfunction! This forces the driver to find a safe place to pull off the road and accomplish the reset. But in the meantime the vehicle is driven without a critical piece of safety equipment that was designed to improve safety, when in actuality decreases safety after each rain event. I am writing you this so you are informed of the situation should a traffic accident happen you have a better picture of what may have happened and to hopefully force the manufacturer to issue a recall and resolution to this defect. Respectively submitted, INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The instrument panel located on the dash is a digital display. There are cracks forming making the view difficult to see air in the tanks or speed. This is built on a Freightliner chassis. I have seen other RV forums where this is a common problem. This cracking will continue to get worse making it difficult to see any instruments on the panel.